Track and trace: Booze bottles to have QR codes under Haryana Excise Policy 2023-24

To tackle liquor smuggling and adulterated liquor sale in Haryana, the liquor bottles being manufactured at various distilleries and bottling plants in the state will now have a quick response (QR) code on them under the Haryana Excise Policy 2023-24.

Officials said the supply to liquor vends with the QR code by licensee contractors started weeks after it was officially kicked off on December 12, in the third quarter of the financial year 2023-24 on a pilot basis.

This was implemented as part of the track and trace system developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) after deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, who also holds the excise and revenue department, chaired a review meeting last month.

Chautala said a provision was made under the policy to implement the QR-based track and trace system, which will help to regulate and monitor the movement of liquor, and capture the production and supply of liquor products on a real-time basis.

A senior official of the department said the system is being executed in two stages – first, supply from distilleries to L-1 or L-13 and second from wholesale stores to retail liquor vends authorised under them.

There are 14 distilleries and a few bottling plants in the state that supply Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) to L-1 and country liquor (CL) to L-13.

YK Gupta, a Karnal-based wine contractor, said the first step has been implemented, while licensees like him will start adding details of the liquor vends, they will supply to, as per the orders.

“Under the system, we will also upload details of our supply that could be universally tracked by the distilleries and the department,” he said.

RK Nain, Karnal district excise and taxation commissioner (DETC), excise, said the code will have details of the manufacturer and the supplier for the information of the government and also for consumers.

“The manufacturing with the codes started after December 12 in all the distilleries. Most of the products are in the market, while it could be in complete number by a week after the old stock is sold,” Nain told the HT.

Explaining the benefits, an Ambala-based contractor said the tracker will help the government increase its revenue as it will end duplicate manufacturing of liquor by the distilleries, like in last month’s hooch tragedy, and help to trace the supply chain in case of theft, such as during the lockdown.

Another contractor from Karnal said, “In recent days, liquor from other neighbouring districts is being supplied in Karnal against the rules, which has affected the market during the festive season. If there are QR codes, it will be easier to trace the source of illegal supply and fine the accused.”

The provision was also part of a reply by home minister Anil Vij to a calling attention motion moved during the recently concluded winter session of the Haryana Assembly, in connection with the 20 deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor in Yamunanagar and Ambala.

Apart from the track and trace system, Vij also said that to plug the leakage of liquor from the manufactories (i.e. distilleries/bottling plants, etc.) a state-of-the-art CCTV camera system has been installed in all distilleries and bottling plants in the state, along with an integrated control room at head office.